Court: D.C. guide rules unconstitutional

6/27/14 4:28 PM EDT

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has struck down D.C. regulations that require paid tour guides to pass a 100-question exam about buildings and history of the capital city.

In a 3-0 decision authored by Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown, the court noted that the city’s legal counsel was “literally speechless” when asked how the speech-regulating measure accomplishes its goal. Tonia Edwards and Bill Main, who own and operate Segway-tour company "Segs In the City” in Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis, Maryland, sued the District for infringing upon their First Amendment rights.

The case brought attention to a District law that makes it illegal for paid guides to talk about points of interest while escorting a tour group without paying $200 to the city and passing a multiple-choice test. The court said the city should be less worried about applicants passing the exam and more worried about negative attention on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor.

And according to details in the court decision (posted here), it doesn’t matter what tour guides actually say, just whether the money is paid and the license is valid. And recorded tours aren't covered at all.

When asked during proceedings whether those regulations “would permit a tour bus to recruit a drunk off the street to prerecord the audio narration, the District [lawyer] unequivocally answered, 'yes,'" Brown added.

The judges noted several inconsistencies with the District’s statements, including the fact that Edwards and Main were told they could give unlicensed tours if they used a recording while saying later that they could only conduct tours if they just handed out pamphlets.

“The District’s failure to provide any justification—let alone a persuasive one—for the glaring inconsistency, effectively eviscerated what was left of the regulations’ waning credibility,” Brown wrote.

CORRECTION (Friday, 4:35 P.M.): The initial verson of this post misstated Brown's last name in some instances.